On the flip side, I hate the point1-point2 zone in the last stage. I find it near impossible to defend that second point, because when blu finally caps the first, red has to run further to reach the second point than blu has to go to get there from the first.

Might be the nature of the gametype- there are three rounds to win, so blu's chance of winning the whole map is kind of diminished.

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I think you'll find that it should be about 80-20 the other way for it to be balanced perfectly. Goldrush is really heavily weighted towards defence and yet nobody really notices all that much (well, I do, I complain every single game because I never ever see the explosion, I've seen it about 6 or 7 times total )

Well, Hoodoo and cranetop in that respect, at least let people see the end ^^

But clearly organized RED team should not loose the start of second and third round in goldrush. Still people seems to love being consistently fragged over and over (maybe because they will get the chance to do it when defending)

I usually play a goldrush everyday, usually as blue, it's not so enjoyable as red because nothing is more satisfying than capping final point stage 3, seeing yourself at the top of the scoreboard and going YEAH, I'M THE BEST. But it is really damn hard sometimes and I definitely lose as blue more than I win.

There are TONS of 24/7 instant spawn goldrush servers out there. I wouldn't be surprised if that manifested itself in these stats. Instant spawning defence = not win.

I'd say on instant spawn servers it's about 80/20, but on regular servers it's the 40/60, as in the attackers normally win. Unless a decent defence goes up between points 2 and 3 on the final stage.

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I think this is the biggest part of the problem. Instant-spawn servers are kind of ruining things. They cater to impatient people who don't realize that the respawn time is an important part of the gameplay. Instant respawn destroys the balance of most good maps.

Every time I get into TF2 I have to carefully search for a server that has a low ping AND hasn't messed with the respawn time. This isn't always easy if there's a specific map I want to play.

Other than respawn time, there definitely are slight choke-point problems. You can even see it on Goldrush's death map. But overall it's still one of my favorites, and quite possible to win as Blue if your team is good enough. I think the odds are better stacked in Red's favor.

As far as goldrush just getting played more, well, it is the 2nd most popular map, behind dustbowl, and that still manages to maintain something more like 40/45 - 60/55. There are plenty of 24/7 dustbowl servers, instant spawns, and so on that make would do the same thing to that map. Yet it is far closer to balanced than goldrush.

Also, look at the deathmap.

That area that receives the most kills is the spot shortly after point 1 in round 1. It is not something that is particularly close to a point, such as 2nd point 2nd round, which would make instant respawns a big deal.

I would have hoped that, if this was a better map, the heatmap would reflect an increasing number of deaths as the map goes along, indicating that it becomes harder and harder for blu to continue (ie, the map gets harder).

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The problem with the heatmap for goldrush is it doesn't take the seperate stages into account. Now, depending on what you want out of the heatmap, it might be ok, but for looking at the overall areas of difficulty it's useless because the amount of rounds that make it to the third stage is disproportionate to ones that end on the first stage. Because of that you end up with pretty much solid blue for the whole last stage. It is, however, useful for indicating the fact that red wins too because of that.

Yeah, that's precisely what the deathmap tells. If you look at Dustbowl, you'll see that Blue more commonly makes it to the third round than they would in Goldrush. And it's because of that nasty chokepoint before Goldrush's second control point.

Most often complaint I hear about payload maps in general is that the defending demo man has the advantage because the players know that this mobile device has a fixed path that's predictable. I, however, don't see the difference really between that and defending in Dustbowl tbh.

Most often complaint I hear about payload maps in general is that the defending demo man has the advantage because the players know that this mobile device has a fixed path that's predictable. I, however, don't see the difference really between that and defending in Dustbowl tbh.

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By that theory, engies and pyros and heavies and spies and... well, everyone has an advantage when they know where the enemy is.